Victor Lindelof is confident that a healthy work ethic and attention to detail in his game will help him continue to flourish for Manchester United. Sweden central defender Lindelof is champing at the bit ahead of the new season and has pledged to toil endlessly for the cause under the stewardship of Old Trafford coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But before the Premier League campaign gets under way — with the mouth-watering prospect of the visit of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea on August 11 — United are back in pre-season friendly action. This time they will come up against Italian giants Inter Milan on Saturday (July 20) in the International Champions Cup tournament at the Singapore National Stadium.
As you would imagine, Lindelof hopes very much to be involved in the game and knows full well that this will help him to establish a regular slot in the sides put together by Solskjaer as he desperately tries to find the right combination in terms of his best United set-up.
But once the friendly matchers are done and suited, Lindelof wants to get his teeth firmly into the domestic season that awaits — and remains hopeful he can improve on his campaign last time of asking when he was called in to first team action on 29 occasions. He said:
“I just try to do my best every day and help out the side. That’s what I work hard for every day, to go out there on the pitch and perform and try to help the club win games. Yes, last season was a better season for me than the season before that and I performed better than I did in my first year here. I’m very happy to be a Manchester United player and I’m really looking forward to this season. I’m very excited for a new season to start.”
Meanwhile, United assistant coach Mike Phelan believes the players are adapting well to the new systems imparted to them by the coaching staff and feels this was very much evident in the recent 2-0 win over Perth Glory in Australia. Phelan says his charges are piecing things together after being asked to do more — and there has been a fantastic response. He added:
“You can see the intensity in training is high. We need to keep pushing and pushing. We’re not just preparing them for the first game of the season against Chelsea on 11 August but preparing them for the season.”
And Phelan has called on the United aces to instil a mental toughness to their approach, and know this will help them no end with the stresses and strains of a long, hard season ahead after a difficult term last time of asking. He concluded:
“We need to ensure now that the energy, stamina and enthusiasm is in the players right from the start. It’s not just fitness. We want them to be mentally tough as well to experience what it really is about United — right to the end from start to finish.”